Fernwood Elem School, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Fernwood Elem School

Fernwood Elem School is a small neighborhood school serving pre-K through eighth grade on Chicago's South Side. The enrollment is small for its grade range, with about a quarter of those students in the middle grades. The student population is predominantly Black, with very few students of other races and ethnicities represented.

In academic terms, this school faces significant challenges. State testing results show very weak performance across most grades and subjects. In math, third and fourth graders show modest proficiency rates in the low-to-mid range, but fifth grade drops sharply to single-digit proficiency. By sixth grade, the rate stays low, and seventh and eighth grades similarly struggle. Science proficiency is extremely low at grades five and eight. English language arts shows more variation: third through fifth grades are well below typical proficiency, but sixth through eighth grades recover to around half or slightly above. Test participation is generally strong across the school, suggesting students are taking the assessments.

When benchmarked against other districts in Cook County, Fernwood's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This is one of the lower-performing schools in the comparison group.

The neighborhood where Fernwood sits is part of Chicago's South Side. Housing values in the school's zip code are modest, and monthly rents have been rising modestly. The broader Chicago market has seen renewed growth after years of decline, and housing approvals have risen, though much recent development has concentrated downtown and along the North Lakefront. The school sits within the fabric of a dense, walkable city with extensive public transit, parks, and civic institutions, though those assets vary widely by neighborhood.

Fernwood is part of Chicago Public Schools, a very large urban district serving hundreds of thousands of students. The district has undergone significant recent shifts: a new elected school board structure is taking effect, a five-year strategic plan emphasizes neighborhood schools over school choice, and a new curriculum system called Skyline has been rolled out. These changes may affect how the school is resourced and evaluated going forward, and parents may want to explore what these district-level directions mean for this particular school.

Data on school-specific supports such as English learner services, special education, teacher staffing, discipline practices, attendance, or free and reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available. Graduation rate does not apply because this is not a high school.

For a family considering this school, the academic performance data presents a clear concern. The proficiency rates, particularly in math and science, are well below what would suggest strong academic momentum. A parent may want to look into this further with the school directly: to understand what interventions are in place, what the school sees as root causes, how it is working to improve, and whether the teaching approach and culture feel like a fit for their child. The school's role as a neighborhood school within a system now emphasizing neighborhood options rather than choice or selection may shape enrollment and community context in years to come.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 29% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 24% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 27% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 23% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 36% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 39% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 43% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 45% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 46% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 48% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 29% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 31% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

This schoolChicago Public Schools Dist 299, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.